Many people dream of changing the world and making a difference in the lives around them. Not many people get off their butt and do what they can to make that difference. This summer, sophomores Sophie Beya and Emily Young did just that. Beya and Young spent three months volunteering in a refugee camp in southern Sudan through a non-profit organization called New Community Project. They left with “just us and our clothes,” ready to serve, and returned home with “empty cups, shattered hearts and eyes wide open.”

With the conversion of the M.T. Brackbill Planetarium into a hands-on “Discovery Room” for curious elementary students, the end may have truly come for astronomy at EMU. “Astronomy has had a long tradition here, running 75 years, but it’s sort of the end of an era,” said John L. Horst, Jr., Professor Emeritus of Physics and Adjunct Math Professor who taught the astronomy course in the most recent years.

Located in the brightly painted building across from the Little Grill Collective, Our Community Place is a grassroots project aimed at building relationships and fostering community growth.

Self-examination has become a more prominent part of my thought process this semester, due in part to my role as an editor of the Weather Vane, and in turn a critic of the EMU community. Recently, writing a paper for class, thoughts of how I treat those around me rose to the surface. What are my motives for the things I do? Why do I believe what I believe? How do my beliefs affect others?

The women’s field hockey team is having another impressive season. Last year the Lady Royals finished with an ODAC (Old Dominion Athletic Conference) record of 7-2. With their 6-3 victory over Sweet Briar last Wednesday, the team improved that record and swept the table of their ODAC opponents. The team is currently a perfect 7-0 in conference play. More importantly, they have earned the right to host the entire ODAC playoffs. However, this winning streak isn’t something that the field hockey team stumbled upon by accident. Their all-time ODAC Record is 204-33-4, and their ODAC tournament record is 47- 13, not to mention their seven bids for the NCAA Division III championships.

In the past, men at EMU have formed many A capella groups, most notably Full Table and Sons of the Day. A group of EMU first years is continuing this tradition by forming the new A capella group, Bellaccord. Although the group began only three and a half weeks ago, they have already performed at the homecoming donor’s banquet and have received invitations to various area churches. Steve Kniss and Braydon Hoover are the organizers of the small, ten-man ensemble.